Australia’s longest-running annual lifestyle survey has revealed women are having second thoughts about whether a husband is for life, while support is growing for same-sex marriage.

The University of Melbourne surveys the same 17,000 people each year for the annual Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia report (HILDA).

It found Australian attitudes were becoming more progressive, with 67 per cent of women and 59 per cent of men stating that homosexual couples should have the same marriage, parenting and employment rights as heterosexual couples.

Richard Ferrara, right, of New York, holds a sign and the rainbow flag along with others during a Dignity USA demonstration Saturday, April 12, 2008 in New York, NY. Dignity USA, a Catholic gay rights group, held the demonstration across the street from the United Nations complex ahead of Pope Benedict XVI’s upcoming visit to the U.S. next week. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)